The number of enemies more than tripled that of the celestials present.
While the celestials were not weak, those of the ancient races possessed numerous strange abilities that increased the overall difficulty of the battle.
In the end, the battle was still in favor of the celestials; however, Izroth realized that if things had continued down their current path, then the number of injuries would rise. There was also the possibility that reinforcements were on their way.
So, in order to even the playing field, minimize any potential losses, and sate his curiosity, Izroth decided to activate the Great Lightning Army, one of the new skills of his Sword of the Storm.
The Great Lightning Army was a bonus forged effect that allowed Izroth to summon 26 Lightning Soldiers and 1 Storm Commander.
The effects lasted for a total of thirty minutes and had a cooldown time of twelve hours. That’s why Izroth planned on taking advantage of every moment the Great Lighting Army was active.
As for the barrier of towering trees set up by Luxia, it crumbled and withered away the moment Sychia dealt the finishing blow. Therefore, Izroth knew that they could not rely on it to keep any reinforcements away from the fight.
It was also important to take into account that if the unknown black lake did hold some form of significant importance to the Pillar of the West, Ourami, then he would not let it fall into enemy hands so easily.
The worst-case scenario was that Ourami himself showed up on the battlefield!
However, if they could find out how this black lake was connected to the pillar, perhaps it would be possible to discover a way to use it against him.
Izroth closely observed the battlefield. He had not made a move and simply monitored the ongoing battle.
It was not because he relished the thought of joining the fight, but rather he wanted to be where he was most needed as quickly as possible. This was due to the quest he received not too long ago.
The quest also influenced Izroth’s decision to use the Great Lightning Army to ensure a smoother process.
Quest Name: Well Grouped
Quest Difficulty: SS-F
Recommended Level: N/A
Recommended Party Size: N/A
Objective: Minimize the number of celestial losses until the end of the ongoing battle. A celestial is considered a “loss” when eliminated or they can no longer participate in the battle. This quest is considered concluded when one party retreats or one side is exterminated on the battlefield.
Time Limit: None
Current Celestial Losses: 0/19
Reward:
-x30 Purified Energy Liquid Drops [Requires 10 losses or less]
-x1 Soil of Gaea Bag [Requires 5 losses or less]
-x1 ???’s Celestial Tree Seed [Requires 3 losses or less]
-??? [Requires 0 losses]
Failure:
-None
The difficulty of the quest was between SS rank and F rank, meaning it was only as challenging as the effort one was willing to put into it.
Surprisingly, there was no failure penalty listed for the quest. However, Izroth understood from experience that this did not necessarily mean that there were no consequences.
Failing this quest would not directly punish Izroth, but bring about a domino effect.
If too many of the celestials were injured in this battle, then going forward, their group’s strength would be weakened. If this happened, the success rate of emerging victorious in the Celestial Battlegrounds, the requirement for Izroth to complete his SSS-ranked quest, would be greatly lowered.
The outcome may not only lead to him losing three levels. It would also result in him being automatically ejected from the Secret Realm and losing access to the Cyclops Workshop—both things Izroth planned to prevent by virtually any means necessary.
Izroth watched the movement of the Lighting Soldiers as they assisted the celestials who were having the most trouble suppressing multiple ancient races.
‘Their movements are not bad. While the individual strength of each Lighting Soldier is not too impressive, they can probably handle a level 40 elite monster on their own. But, when working together…’
From what Izroth observed, the Lighting Soldiers were split into seven groups of three and one group of five.
Those in a unit of three worked closely together and supported the celestials by blocking the weaker of the ancient races and preventing them from interfering in the more intense battles.
As for the group of five, they acted together to directly subdue one of the stronger ancient races.
While the enemy they fought had not yet stepped into the legendary realm, in terms of power, they were probably only one or two steps away.
The fact that it only took five Lighting Soldiers to suppress such an enemy, Izroth had to admit that he underestimated how domineering the Great Lighting Army would be. And, this was not even them at their full strength!
According to the skill, the number of summons and their strength would be based on Izroth’s Sword of the Storm’s current attack damage.
At the moment, the attack damage was only 2,723 out of 10,000 points.
If one converted this to a percentage, it meant that the Lightning Soldiers were only at a little more than 27% of their total potential!
Not to mention, their numbers would also continue to grow.
At its full potential, Izroth may hold in his hands an army that was capable of opposing several legendary realm figures. Having such power, even if it was only for thirty minutes, was enough to easily take over an entire enemy stronghold with ease!
However, while the Lightning Soldiers were certainly outstanding in their own right, they were still far away from the Storm Commander, Sagarus.
Among those summoned through the Great Lightning Army, Sagarus was the only one who could speak.
Izroth was somewhat taken aback when he found that Sagarus appeared to have his own consciousness.
Unless it was an item that possessed an Immortal Persona like the Dragon Lord of the Abyss, it should be impossible for something conjured from it to wield a consciousness of its own.
To Izroth’s knowledge, besides his Sword of the Storm, there existed no other such item discovered by players in all of RML!
‘Is this also one of the abilities of the Enati who reforged it?’
Izroth did not have an exact answer; however, he speculated that it had something to do with that mysterious race of giant blacksmiths, the Enati.
As these thoughts passed their Izroth’s mind, the Storm Commander Sagarus raised the black and purple lightning sword in his hand to the skies as dark gray clouds swirled overhead.
When Izroth witnessed Sagarus’ actions, he immediately recognized that posture and the effects brought about by it!
‘This is… Great Storm? But, this range of coverage—it’s equal to the Great Storm empowered by my essence.’
Great Storm was one of the offensive skills attached to his Sword of the Storm. The original range when Izroth used it was thirty meters.
However, when empowered by his essence, it doubled to sixty meters! Right now, the same skill was being employed by Sagarus at such a range!
All of a sudden, a hail of sharp blades of winds rained down from the skies, striking those Sagarus labeled as enemies according to Izroth’s own perception.
Many of the weaker ancient races could not hold up under the effects of Sagarus’ Great Storm and fell before its rampage.
Even those who were stronger and relied on their natural defensive capabilities could not ignore the blades of wind generated by the Great Storm.
In the blink of an eye, the entire battle turned around.
As the pressure on the ancient races rose, they were quickly becoming overwhelmed with every passing moment. And, after losing some of their strongest thanks to the combined effort of the more powerful celestials like Kyamakri, as well as Hakros, Sychia, Sagarus, and the Lightning Soldiers, the battle had become completely one-sided!
…
A few minutes later…
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have completed the quest «Well Grouped». Checking results…〉
〈System Alert: A total of 19 out of 19 celestials are in good or perfect condition! [Rank Acquired: SS]〉
〈System Alert: You have received x30 Purified Energy Liquid Drops.〉
〈System Alert: You have received x1 Soil of Gaea Bag.〉
〈System Alert: You have received x1 ???’s Celestial Tree Seed.〉
〈System Alert: You have received x1 Resplendent Landscape Pocket Dimension Stone.〉
Izroth received an alert from the system confirming that completion of his quest as the last enemy of the ancient races was struck down by Hakros.
As for Izroth, he did not have to participate in the battle directly as everything remained well under control.
After the battle concluded, the celestials temporarily split into several groups. Some focused on erasing the signs of a battle from the area, while others inspected the black lake. There was also a couple of celestials who volunteered to escort the mortals a safe distance away from the black lake.
While this all took place, Izroth decided to access his inventory and check on the rewards he obtained from clearing the quest.
‘Liquid, soil, a seed… It’s clear that all the materials are for cultivating a tree. But, this item—is it really what I think it is?’
Izroth’s attention fell upon the last item he acquired from the quest. It was a small black stone with dark green emerald carvings on its surface.
Izroth did not recognize the carvings or their meaning. But, he felt a tremendous source of energy being emitted from the small object that could fit into the palm of his hand.
This was the Resplendent Landscape Pocket Dimension Stone.
